File photo: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
Islamabad:
The ruling Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz has denied as "totally baseless and ludicrous" news reports that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has resigned.
Pakistan National Assembly's Member Marvi Memon told NDTV from the Prime Minister's house that news reports regarding army chief Raheel Sharif demanding PM Sharif's resignation were 'totally baseless' and 'ludicrous'.
Mr Sharif's daughter Maryam tweeted, "News of Army Chief asking PM to resign or going on leave is baseless."
Speculation that Mr Sharif had quit began when Pakistan's army chief Raheel Sharif met him on Monday, as Opposition protesters crowded outside government offices demanding his resignation.
A day earlier the army chief, who is not related to the prime minister, urged the government and opposition leaders to resolve the crisis through talks and warned against the use of force to end the demonstrations.
On Monday, Pakistani soldiers and paramilitary forces entered the headquarters of the state television channel PTV in Islamabad after a crowd of protesters stormed the building and took the channel off the air.
Protesters led by opposition leaders Imran Khan, a hero cricket-player-turned-politician, and Tahir ul-Qadri, a firebrand cleric, have been on the streets for weeks trying to bring down the government of Prime Minister Sharif.
PM Sharif, who easily won an election in May last year, has refused to step down. The demonstrations descended into deadly chaos on Saturday, with at least three people killed in clashes with police.
Clashes broke out early on Monday and the state PTV channel and its English-language PTV World service were taken off the air after protesters stormed its headquarters in Islamabad.
"They have stormed the PTV office," a news anchor said just before the screen went blank. "PTV staff performing their journalistic duties are being beaten up."
A PTV source told Reuters the protesters had occupied the main control room and smashed some equipment. Later, television pictures showed uniformed members of a paramilitary force and soldiers walking calmly into the building.
A Reuters witness said the soldiers escorted protesters out and placed the building under their protection. There were no signs of violence and the protesters were seen leaving the building peacefully. The station later came back on the air.
In the nuclear-armed nation where power has often changed hands through military coups rather than elections, the army is bound to play a key role in how the conflict unfolds but it has not directly intervened, apart from talking to the protagonists and calling on them to show restraint.
If the protests get out of control and there is major violence, the army could step in decisively, imposing a curfew or even martial law.
Alternatively it could side with the protesters and put pressure on PM Sharif to resign, in which case an interim government would have be put in place and early parliamentary elections held to elect a new government.
However, few observers believe at this stage that the army is bent on seizing power again.
A weakened Sharif would allow the army to remain firmly in charge of key issues such as relations with India and Afghanistan while allowing the civilian government to deal with day-to-day economic issues in which it has little interest.
Pakistan National Assembly's Member Marvi Memon told NDTV from the Prime Minister's house that news reports regarding army chief Raheel Sharif demanding PM Sharif's resignation were 'totally baseless' and 'ludicrous'.
Mr Sharif's daughter Maryam tweeted, "News of Army Chief asking PM to resign or going on leave is baseless."
Speculation that Mr Sharif had quit began when Pakistan's army chief Raheel Sharif met him on Monday, as Opposition protesters crowded outside government offices demanding his resignation.
A day earlier the army chief, who is not related to the prime minister, urged the government and opposition leaders to resolve the crisis through talks and warned against the use of force to end the demonstrations.
On Monday, Pakistani soldiers and paramilitary forces entered the headquarters of the state television channel PTV in Islamabad after a crowd of protesters stormed the building and took the channel off the air.
Protesters led by opposition leaders Imran Khan, a hero cricket-player-turned-politician, and Tahir ul-Qadri, a firebrand cleric, have been on the streets for weeks trying to bring down the government of Prime Minister Sharif.
PM Sharif, who easily won an election in May last year, has refused to step down. The demonstrations descended into deadly chaos on Saturday, with at least three people killed in clashes with police.
Clashes broke out early on Monday and the state PTV channel and its English-language PTV World service were taken off the air after protesters stormed its headquarters in Islamabad.
"They have stormed the PTV office," a news anchor said just before the screen went blank. "PTV staff performing their journalistic duties are being beaten up."
A PTV source told Reuters the protesters had occupied the main control room and smashed some equipment. Later, television pictures showed uniformed members of a paramilitary force and soldiers walking calmly into the building.
A Reuters witness said the soldiers escorted protesters out and placed the building under their protection. There were no signs of violence and the protesters were seen leaving the building peacefully. The station later came back on the air.
In the nuclear-armed nation where power has often changed hands through military coups rather than elections, the army is bound to play a key role in how the conflict unfolds but it has not directly intervened, apart from talking to the protagonists and calling on them to show restraint.
If the protests get out of control and there is major violence, the army could step in decisively, imposing a curfew or even martial law.
Alternatively it could side with the protesters and put pressure on PM Sharif to resign, in which case an interim government would have be put in place and early parliamentary elections held to elect a new government.
However, few observers believe at this stage that the army is bent on seizing power again.
A weakened Sharif would allow the army to remain firmly in charge of key issues such as relations with India and Afghanistan while allowing the civilian government to deal with day-to-day economic issues in which it has little interest.
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